A Tale of Thieves
by TheGoldenYoshichu
Summary: Grayback and his team weren't always criminals. Each of them has a story. Each of them has had their own journey from the innocence of youth to the lives of crime they live now. While their stories end at the same place there is a rift between them. What could cause this rift and what will happen as a result? Sequel to Every DJ Has Her Day.
1. Prologue: Band of Thieves

**Prologue: Band of Thieves**

Detrot was a very large industrial city in the land of Equestria. It was filled with thousands of ponies but despite the massive population there were quite a few spots in the city that were totally empty. Crime was also a rather big issue in the city of Detrot. While the law enforcement officials were well trained, Detrot was a large city and there just simply weren't enough ponies to keep the peace. This made Detrot an excellent city for thieves and other criminals. They could evade the law with ease in a city as large and dangerous as this. Some thieves were loners while others formed groups. One of the largest groups of criminals was led by a griffon known as Grayback.

Grayback was a powerful and clever sort of griffon. This made him an excellent leader for a crime organization. Most of the thieves that worked for him sought protection. While they would have to give up a share of their profits, they would be protected from police as well as rival thugs. The massive size of the organization provided strength in the form of sheer numbers. While there were other groups of criminals, each of them feared the organization that was run by the fearsome griffon named Grayback. Even some of the toughest ponies dreaded the griffon even looking at them. Grayback's army was the largest group of thieves in Equestria with an army made up of over one hundred ponies and griffons making up their ranks. Grayback led the fiendish group along with two pegasus ponies and an alicorn that served as his lieutenants.

This group of four was easily the most dangerous group of thieves that Equestria had ever seen. Each of them had a role and they all filled their roles perfectly. Grayback commanded them and he was a highly competent strategist. He was clever, powerful, and very cunning which made him an extremely dangerous griffon. His right hand stallion was an alicorn named Psyke. He was a fiery red pony and he had a personality that matched his colors. He had total control over fire and an insane personality to go along with it. His mane and tail were a fiery orange color and they made him look like he was actually on fire. Psyke enjoyed having total control over fire. It was his greatest talent and passion and it caused many ponies to fear him due to the widespread destruction that he could cause with unnerving ease,

The two pegasi were known as Monochrome and Chunker. Monochrome was a dark gray mare with an even darker mane. At first glance, one might confuse her for the cellist known as Octavia. Unlike Octavia however, Monochrome's eyes were silver instead of lilac. Her body and mane were also slightly darker than that of the cello playing earth pony. Monochrome was one of the smartest ponies in Equestria and she never hesitated to remind others of that fact. While she was highly intelligent, her arrogance was equal to her smarts. She made an excellent planner and she was a very valuable asset to Grayback and his group. Despite her intelligence, Monochrome wasn't much of a fighter. She never lasted very long in any sort of battle which was a real contrast to the other pegasus of the group. This pegasus named Chunker was the total opposite of Monochrome. She had a muscular tan colored body and a blonde untamable mane. Her eyes were a deep ocean blue sort of color. This massive pony looked very similar to the pegasus known as Bulk Biceps. Chunker used her physical strength to its fullest potential. Unlike her partner Monochrome however, Chunker was extremely dimwitted. Even with her lack of intelligence she still played a very important role in Grayback's plans. Every member of the foursome had his or her own strengths and weaknesses but they balanced each other out and formed the perfect team. Using their combined talents they were able to pull off many heists and strike fear into the hearts of ponies across Equestria. Aside from Gilda and her friends, nopony ever dared to challenge Grayback and his formidable team of crooks. It seemed like they had a long life of crime ahead of them.

However the four members of the group never dreamed of being thieves when they were younger. Each of them had their own life stories which led from their foalhoods to the crime filled lives they led today. While they kept their stories to themselves, each member's tale was different. Every one of them had his or her own reasons for joining the group of dangerous criminals. The four leaders of the criminal organization reflected on his or her life prior to becoming part of Grayback's army of robbers. The intelligent gray pegasus mare Monochrome sat by herself and remembered what her foalhood was like. She smirked a bit as a flashback filled her mind.


	2. Chapter 1: Monochrome's Memoir

**Chapter 1: Monochrome's Memoir**

Monochrome was born in a small town called Mountvale. There was nothing that made this town stand out from any other town in Equestria. The citizens themselves were of a commonplace sort of nature. None of them would ever be famous and they didn't have the dreams of such either. The entire town was full of everyday normal ponies. However Monochrome easily stood out from the crowd. Her superior intellect was quickly seen at a very early age. As a young pony she was reading at the level of adults. Monochrome was easily the smartest pony in the entire town. Not even the adults were more intelligent than the gray filly. She earned her cutie mark at an early age and it depicted a large textbook. Monochrome knew that this meant that she was destined for prestige and greatness. Nopony could ever be able to compete with Monochrome in an academic or mental contest. The gray pony also carried herself with a sense of superiority and arrogance which quickly alienated her from the rest of the ponies. Her parents sent her to a private school where she would be with ponies that were at the same level of intelligence as her. The two adults hoped that this would enable her to make friends due to shared levels of intelligence.

The gray pegasus started her time at private school and she quickly shined at the top of the class. She won every single academic prize that the school had to offer. She earned flawless grades in every single class with the exception of gym class. Monochrome hated physical activity and deemed it to be a waste of time. She felt like the time spent in that class could be better used for more productive reasons. She quickly graduated the school and went back to her hometown. Her intelligence and arrogance had only grown since her time at private school. Her parents were proud of her but they also wanted her to have some friends. They decided to send her to Junior Speedsters Flight School in the hopes that she would connect with some ponies. Maybe she would get along better with pegasi since the only ponies she met in school were earth ponies and unicorns.

Monochrome went to Junior Speedsters Flight School and she quickly made enemies with Gilda the Griffon. The gray mare didn't care for the daredevil dreams that Gilda had. This caused Monochrome to bully Gilda during their time at the school. If there was anyone that Monochrome hated more than the brown and white griffon it was her best friend Rainbow Dash. The light blue rainbow maned pegasus pony was born to be a very great flier and she hardly cared for academic success. This quickly got under Monochrome's skin and she despised Rainbow Dash with a passion.

However Monochrome did make a few friends. Well, she used the term 'friends' very loosely. The only things she had in common with the two ponies were her hatred of Gilda and Rainbow Dash. One of her new friends was a fiery red alicorn male named Psyke. The other was a pegasus female named Chunker. Monochrome was a little bit tolerant towards Psyke since he was somewhat intelligent. Chunker however was a different matter altogether. Monochrome was a very intelligent pegasus pony while Chunker was extremely dimwitted. The only reason the gray mare hung around the muscular pony was because of Psyke. Monochrome wasn't in love with Psyke but he was the only pony she had met that was anywhere near her intelligence level. Psyke was extremely knowledgeable about anything that was related to fire. He was average in other aspects but he was better than Chunker or the other ponies at the school.

After roughly three months at Junior Speedsters Flight School, Monochrome took part in a prank against Gilda. She was very eager to humiliate the griffon that she hated. She used her intelligence to plan out how the prank would work. Chunker and Psyke did everything that they could to help. All three of them were certain that this prank would be very humiliating for Gilda and extremely entertaining for the trio. However Rainbow Dash noticed the prank and she saved Gilda from being humiliated at the cost of her own reputation. Monochrome and the others were attacked that night and while they were certain that it was either Gilda or Rainbow Dash that had hurt them, none of them had any way to prove it.

Once the Mid Term exams were over Monochrome had to wait out the rest of her first year before she could get into the advanced classes. Monochrome might have been intelligent but she wasn't the greatest flier. As a result of such she failed her test and had to wait to get into the advanced classes. Despite being a mediocre flier, the gray pegasus excelled in pretty much every other class. Once she started her second year of school she'd be in all honors classes. However two weeks before the end of her first year, Monochrome was caught bullying Gilda one too many times and she was expelled from Junior Speedsters Flight School.

After being kicked out of Flight School, Monochrome went back to the small town of Mountvale. Her parents had been highly disappointed that she had been expelled. They scolded their daughter but she hardly cared. Monochrome was looking for some way to showcase her intelligence. No school would be able to suffice her desire for recognition. Mere awards and classes were nowhere near enough to push Monochrome's smarts to their fullest extent. The gray mare found a number of jobs but none of them enabled her to take advantage of her gift. Every night she dreamed of being famous for her intelligence. She didn't care what she had to do to get that fame. All that mattered to the gray pegasus pony was making sure that ponies across Equestria knew that she was an absolute genius.

A few years went by and Monochrome was approached by a griffon. He had a dark brown body and a black feathered head with red highlights. He also had a scar on his left eye running vertically down his face. He introduced himself as Grayback and he offered Monochrome a spot on his team of thieves. He said that her intelligence would be used to its fullest potential if she worked for him. At the promise of vast riches and recognition, Monochrome eagerly accepted the villainous griffon's offer and she was hired as the brains of Grayback's operations.

Much to her surprise, Monochrome found that she would be working alongside her old 'friends' Psyke and Chunker. Both of them had been expelled from Flight School before her and they had been hired shortly before Monochrome herself was contacted by Grayback. The griffon trained each of them to be the best they could be. The gray pegasus pony was able to increase her brain power beyond what she had dreamed. Her intelligence could rival that of anypony in the entire land of Equestria. Grayback made sure that the trio worked together in an organized manner and they were able to pull off heists with ease. Monochrome knew that her genius would be recognized by ponies all across Equestria. Soon enough the entire world would be regarding her as a genius.

After a few months of working for Grayback, Monochrome was sent to a small town called Ponyville along with her teammates Chunker and Psyke. The trio of thieves thought that the heist would be a simple and quick process. What they hadn't expected to find in Ponyville was Gilda. She, along with several of her friends, trapped the trio which made Grayback join the fray. The foursome were beaten in a battle and got sent to jail. Within a few weeks Grayback used his brute strength to break down the walls of Canterlot Prison. He then freed the trio and they tried to get revenge on Gilda and her friends. After that had failed, they had come to Ponyville to aid them in the war against Grifforia.

During the war, Monochrome fought on the side of Equestria. Much to her displeasure, she was forced to work with her old enemies Gilda and Rainbow Dash. She even had to risk her life so that they could pull of some harebrained scheme to win the war. Had it been up to her she would have let Ponyville's citizens deal with the issue on their own but Grayback had ordered her to help. Once the war ended she quickly went back to being a criminal. Monochrome was itching to put her mind to the test on another heist but Grayback hadn't ordered anything to be done yet. The gray mare was getting more and more frustrated at his inaction. Even Psyke seemed preoccupied with something. On any other day he'd be the most eager to do some stealing but now it was like he was in his own little world. Monochrome knew that she needed to talk some sense into the duo. The only one who shared her sentiments was Chunker.


	3. Chapter 2: Chunker's Caper

**Chapter 2: Chunker's Caper**

Similar to Monochrome, Chunker was thinking about how her life had led up to being a criminal. The muscular winged pony had just finished a session of weight lifting. She felt proud of the fact that she had managed to bench-press over two hundred pounds. Grinning to herself, Chunker put down the massive burden and remembered what her foalhood had been like. Chunker sat down on her bed, closed her ocean blue eyes, and had a flashback to her younger days.

Unlike Monochrome who had been born in a small town, Chunker had been born in the bustling city of Manehattan. Her parents were a pair of common thugs. They weren't abusive towards their daughter but they saw her as a pony that they were training to become a criminal instead of their flesh and blood. They made young Chunker focus all of her efforts on becoming as strong as physically possible. Chunker didn't have much time for schooling since most of her schedule was filled with weight lifting sessions. As a result of her lack of education, Chunker grew up without much knowledge of anything besides fighting and basic speech.

Even when she was a filly Chunker was a very powerful pony. She roamed the streets and the very few ponies that dared to start a fight with her quickly learned their lesson. She quickly earned her cutie mark which was in the shape of a fist. The young pegasus was very eager to fight at any moment. Chunker's parents were extremely proud of how well their daughter had strengthened in such a short amount of time. They enrolled her in a fight club so that she could learn an actual fighting style. Once this was finished, Chunker's parents were planning on making her their apprentice.

Chunker went to the fighting school and she quickly rose through the ranks. She bested every single pony that she went up against and her masters were extremely impressed. Chunker was quickly moved into the advanced classes and once again she defeated her opponents effortlessly. She entered herself into some competitions and she was the clear winner. She earned trophy after trophy after trophy. Her parents were extremely pleased with her and then they sent her to Junior Speedsters Flight School so that she could learn to fly at fast speeds so that she could flee from a crime at very a efficient pace.

When she arrived at Junior Speedsters Flight School, Chunker quickly made herself known as a bully. She never got into enough trouble to be expelled but the rest of the students were terrified of her. Chunker did very poorly in almost every class but she excelled in physical education and had respectable performances in her flying classes. She also made friends with the red alicorn known as Psyke. Later on she also met Monochrome and the three ponies formed a trio of bullies. Their main target was Gilda due to her being the sole griffon in the school. Unfortunately she had made friends with Rainbow Dash and the duo were able to outsmart the three thugs quite easily.

Unlike Monochrome, Chunker managed to pass her Mid Term Exams with her partner Psyke. This meant that she would be able to start advanced flying classes earlier than Monochrome and the other students that had failed the big test. Chunker's grades were dreadful in every other class but she hardly cared. Chunker enjoyed intimidating others with her muscular build and she got into fights on a regular basis. Towards the end of the year Chunker had to take tests for all of her classes. Her grades were deplorable and as a result of such she flunked out of the school and went back to Manehattan. Chunker's parents had been caught during a heist and had been arrested. The female pegasus didn't care and she struck out on her own to make a living.

Chunker returned to Manehattan and she joined a fight club that was very similar to The Wrestling World of Equestria. She dominated her opponents without any real difficulty. Chunker made an average amount of bits by fighting against other ponies and the occasional griffon. She was offered the chance to compete in a tournament that was open to all types of fighters with the chance at a huge sum of money for winning. The rules of this tournament only allowed one fighter per species. Chunker was eager to prove herself but unfortunately she lost out to a pegasus male named Bulk Biceps and he went on to compete in the tournament as the sole pegasus in the competition.

After this failure, Chunker quit the fight club and used her muscular body to do all kinds of manual labor. A few years went by and she was approached by a dark brown griffon. He introduced himself as Grayback and he offered the muscular pegasus pony a spot on his team of thieves. Chunker accepted immediately and she filled the role of being the main muscle of the team. Much to her surprise she saw that Psyke had already been signed up and they were soon joined by Monochrome. The trio made themselves known throughout Equestria as the most dangerous criminals in the entire world.

Chunker enjoyed stealing from ponies and attacking anypony that got in her way. During the raid on Ponyville, she had attempted to get some revenge on Gilda but she failed and was sent to Canterlot Prison along with the rest of her team. Once they broke out of the jail they made another failed attempt at revenge and then fought in the war against Grifforia. Despite being forced to work with her enemies, Chunker was thrilled to be in the thick of a fight. This was what she lived for. Using her muscles to demolish her opponents was her passion. Unfortunately her passion and abilities weren't being used much as of late.

Grayback was the leader of the criminal organization so heists were only done when he ordered them. Ever since the war had ended he hadn't told his crew to do anything. He just sat around with a really faraway look on his face. Every once in a while Chunker would catch him looking at a letter with a smile on his face. Anytime she had tried to ask him about it he quickly told her that it wasn't any of her business. Chunker was getting irritated at not being able to fight against other ponies or steal anything. Monochrome felt the same way as she did and the duo were getting close to confronting Grayback about their inactivity. Psyke didn't share their sentiments at all. In fact he was often seen with the same facial expression as Grayback.


	4. Chapter 3: Psyke's Story

**Chapter 3: Psyke's Story**

Psyke sat by himself as he reflected on his life. The red alicorn was easily Grayback's closest ally. Psyke had been a part of Grayback's team longer than either Monochrome or Chunker. He was also starting to build a friendship with his leader. The fire obsessed pony couldn't help but think about what his foalhood had been like and how it had all led up to him becoming a criminal. Psyke closed his bold red eyes and remembered what his early life was like.

Even when he was a colt, Psyke was a very unique pony. For one thing he was born an alicorn. Precious few alicorns existed in the land of Equestria and all of them had some connection with royalty. There were the Princesses Celestia, Luna, and later on Cadence but that was pretty much it. Everypony had assumed that Psyke would one day become a ruler of the land of ponies. Within a few years however, it became quite obvious that the red alicorn had absolutely no interest in becoming a prince and many ponies feared the idea of him having a position of power.

Psyke's parents had been thrilled at the prospect of their only son being a prince. They tried to teach him about all of the finer things in life. The duo did everything they could to raise Psyke to be the perfect little gentlecolt. Unfortunately Psyke did not care for the refined, upright, and dignified behavior associated with gentlecolts. It also didn't help that he had an uncanny ability to cause fires whenever he got aggravated. The unicorn male and pegasus female were forced to leave the city of Canterlot and they set off for another town to call home.

Psyke didn't want anything to do with royalty or anything remotely similar to it. He was what many ponies referred to as a wild stallion. His fiery personality was about as tamable as his equally flaming mane. The red alicorn's parents finally gave up on their dreams of having a prince as a son and they instead focused on helping Psyke learn to control his powers. He might not be a prince but his fiery talents were dangerous if left uncontrolled. They had been forced to leave Canterlot due to Psyke's dangerous talents and they didn't want to go through that again.

Psyke had been born with a very unique gift. Fires were often seen as dangerous and uncontrollable. Within a few short years of training however, Psyke found that he could tame a fire quite easily. Some ponies thought that Psyke was some sort of god who's main power was attributed to fire. It would make sense since both Celestia and Luna could control the sun and moon respectively. Other ponies merely saw it quite fitting that such a wild and dangerous thing could only be controlled by a wild and dangerous pony.

While he never intended to hurt anypony, Psyke's emotions often created fires which turned into dangerous and often deadly infernos. It was very rare for a pony to die from one of his fires but it wasn't as rare for multiple ponies to be injured as a result of his powers. Thankfully he had quickly learned how to control his powers and decided to do good things with them in an attempt to make up for the harm he had done. After saving countless ponies from one of the biggest wildfires in the history of Equestria, Psyke earned his cutie mark which was in the shape of a flame. The red pony was excited to have found his talent but he didn't get much excitement or enjoyment from saving ponies. What he really enjoyed was using his fire to attract the attention of others. Unfortunately fire was widely considered an all around bad thing so finding ways to attract positive attention with his talents was extremely difficult.

Soon after earning his cutie mark, Psyke was enrolled at Junior Speedsters Flight School by his parents. The fiery red alicorn was nervous but excited about learning to fly at fast speeds. Maybe he could find a way to use his fire while he was at the school. He bid his parents farewell and went off to the school in the clouds. Psyke was nervous about how ponies would treat him at the school but he was also eager to do some serious flying.

Similar to Gilda, once he arrived at Junior Speedsters Flight School Psyke was outcasted by majority of the students and teachers. Unlike the brown and white griffon however, Psyke had a much angrier reaction to being shunned by his peers. Many ponies that tried to bully him quickly learned why his cutie mark was a flame. Psyke never hurt anypony with his fiery powers but that didn't make him any less scary. Soon enough most ponies learned to leave him alone. While Psyke was never bullied for the rest of his time at Junior Speedsters Flight School, he was extremely lonely. Soon enough however, Psyke met Chunker and Monochrome.

The trio of fliers quickly became a group of, for lack of a better term, friends. They never had conversations or any sort of friendly interactions with each other but they did hang out quite often. It wasn't easy for them to figure out just what their relationship was so they decided to call themselves friends even though there was nothing friendly about what they did when they were together.

Psyke was very eager to get a bit of revenge on the ponies who had ostracized him and made him a lonely outcast. Monochrome and Chunker felt the same way as he did since they had been bullied for their brains and lack thereof respectively. Whenever a plan was concocted Monochrome would act as the brains, Chunker would do all of the heavy lifting, and Psyke would bring a creative aspect to their actions. Monochrome was also clever enough to make sure that the trio never left any evidence that they were responsible for their actions.

Despite getting some much wanted revenge on his former bullies, Psyke wasn't enjoying himself as much as he had hoped he would. This wasn't what he had wanted when he had first arrived at the school. He had wanted to have fun and maybe make some friends. He didn't want to become a bully that used his talents to make other ponies scared or miserable. However it was far too late for him to change. He, Monochrome, and Chunker had agreed to stick together and Psyke was scared of what could happen to him if he abandoned them. Monochrome's intelligence and Chunker's strength were extremely intimidating to the alicorn. He might have had full control over fire but he vowed to never use those powers against another pony except as a last resort. Psyke was terrified of hurting or possibly killing a pony with his fiery magic.

Once the Mid Term exams were upon the students, Psyke found himself partnered with Chunker. While she wasn't the brightest pony around, Chunker was an average flier. Much to his surprise, Psyke found that he had a lot of creativity when it came to stunts. Using his ideas he was able to easily pass the exam and make it into advanced flying classes with ease. Aside from Rainbow Dash and Gilda, Psyke had the best individual score of the entire school. He didn't get a perfect one hundred but he did get a very impressive ninety-eight while his partner Chunker got a very respectable eighty-five. Their scores weren't perfect by any means, but they were enough to secure their spot in the advanced classes.

Unfortunately a few months after the Mid Terms, Psyke's powers caused an accident. It was just one of those days where anything that could have gone wrong did. First he stubbed his hoof on the corner of the wall followed by getting his tail slammed by a door. Before he'd even had breakfast, Psyke was already in a pretty annoyed mood. His teacher didn't exactly help matters since she seemed to have a grudge against the alicorn for some unexplained reason. Even Gilda couldn't deny that Psyke was being treated rather unfairly. The teacher was just a horrible sort of pony and she finally managed to push the red pony over the edge. His anger boiled over and soon enough a fire started. Thankfully the students and teachers had all been able to evacuate the scene but Psyke was terrified by the experience. He had managed to put the fire out easily but he knew that he couldn't stay at the school any longer. He quickly informed the principal that he was leaving and then he left Junior Speedsters Flight School behind.

For the next year or so, Psyke did whatever he could to make some money while trying to avoid causing anymore fires. He might have had control over fires but the same couldn't be said for his emotions. From the incident, he had realized that if his emotions ever got out of control then his fiery powers would follow suit. Psyke did everything that he could to avoid causing any trouble for anypony. He wished that he could find a way to use his powers without hurting others. Other ponies avoided being around him and they only spoke to him when necessary. Even then they kept their comments as brief as possible to avoid angering the alicorn. Psyke was infuriated by this. Sure he was a potentially dangerous pony but that didn't mean that he didn't have feelings. Would it kill these ponies to at least be polite to him once in a while?

After having been out of Flight School for a bit under one and a half years, Psyke was found by a griffon who was known as Giovan but he had preferred to be called Gio. The griffon was everything that Psyke had dreamed of being. Giovan was handsome, suave, adored by mares, and he'd had total control over his emotions. Giovan offered Psyke a job but Psyke refused. He didn't want to cause trouble and so Giovan left him. Roughly two years later Giovan came back but this time he was different. His handsome looks had been replaced by a terrifying appearance with a matching attitude to boot. With his change in looks came a change in his name. He called himself Grayback now and this time he offered Psyke a spot on his team of thieves. By this time Psyke was totally fed up with ponies treating him as a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off and he accepted. If these ponies were afraid of him then he might as well give them a reason to be afraid.

About a month after working with Grayback, Psyke was joined by his old 'friends' Chunker and Monochrome. Both of them had assumed that Psyke was kicked out of Junior Speedsters Flight School and he did nothing to change their minds. The trio worked for Grayback and they pulled off some very impressive heists. Grayback might have been very terrifying but he was what they needed: a leader. Psyke, Monochrome, and Chunker's acts of bullying at Flight School had been effective but disorganized. Their teamwork was minimal and it showed when Grayback put them through some tests. However he was able to turn them into a team that worked in perfect harmony both as thieves and as fighters. Their crimes were pulled off with expert ease and they made quite the respectable income even if their jobs weren't exactly respectable.

During the raid on Ponyville, Psyke used his magic to leave behind the group's symbol at every location they hit. He wasn't enjoying himself as a thief but it was the best life he was able to have. Unlike before, Psyke was able to use his powers without fear of losing control. Grayback had been surprisingly understanding and helpful about the situation. He trained Psyke to keep his emotions under wraps and Psyke was able to follow through on his lessons at all times. This was the first time that Psyke had ever really felt happy. Sure he was lonely as a thief but at least now he could finally be free from his fear of hurting other ponies.

After escaping from Canterlot Prison, Psyke still worked for Grayback. While Chunker and Monochrome were loyal to the griffon, Psyke felt nothing but respect for him. Grayback had helped him escape from his greatest fear and for that, Psyke felt like he owed his life to the griffon. He never spoke about his feelings but he knew that he'd put his own life on the line to save Grayback. The griffon had saved him from his nightmare and Psyke was in his debt for that.

When the foursome created the plan involving the treasure filled cave, Psyke was eager to help Grayback. He might not have cared about revenge but he wasn't going to let Grayback down if he could avoid it. Their plan was a failure but thankfully Grayback wasn't disappointed. He stated that he had merely underestimated the group and that next time they would surely be victorious. However their next meeting with Gilda and her friends was far different due to the fact that they had formed an alliance with their enemies. Once the war had ended Psyke had found himself confused by some newfound feelings for a certain mare.

Despite the fact that she was technically his enemy even though they had never fought, Psyke couldn't help but think that the pony named Pinkie Pie was really cute. Psyke had seen a couple of mares that he'd found cute but none of them compared to the party obsessed pink earth pony. Without even being conscious of what he was doing, Psyke had gone on a date with Pinkie Pie and confessed his love for her the next day. He left Ponyville but his mind would often wander towards daydreams of himself being with Pinkie Pie. The pink pony was the only one who wasn't scared of Psyke and didn't have a grudge against him. She had been extremely nice and she had become Psyke's first true friend. The fiery red alicorn quickly realized that he had wanted to be more than just friends with Pinkie Pie and much to his surprise she returned his feelings.

While Pinkie Pie was his first true friend, Psyke had started to form a bond with Grayback. Having found love with a marefriend of his own, Grayback regained his old handsomeness and his personality had softened. He didn't change his name because he felt that Giovan was a dumb name and Grayback was about as good as anything that he could come up with. Grayback and Psyke often talked with each other and they had some good times together. The two had found some common ground when they had received the love of a mare and they only got along better after that.

Finally Psyke's flashback ended and his mind was filled with thoughts of Pinkie Pie. He had recently returned from a trip to Ponyville where he had spent some quality time with his marefriend. Though the unexpected arrival of Gilda had nearly blown Psyke's cover and the duo agreed that they should meet somewhere else where they were less likely to be disturbed. The fiery red alicorn smiled at the thought of Pinkie Pie and he wondered how Grayback was doing.


	5. Chapter 4: Grayback's Tale

**Chapter 4: Grayback's Tale**

Finally there was the last member of the foursome of thieves. Grayback was sitting by himself and he was reading a letter for the umpteenth time that day. A smile grew on his face with every single word he read. Despite having read the letter more times than he could count, Grayback never got tired of reading what was on it as well as the emotion behind the words. This letter was from his marefriend Fluttershy. In order to prevent Grayback from being sent to jail, Fluttershy addressed the letter to Giovan. Shining Armor didn't know what Grayback's real name was so it was highly unlikely that the captain of the Royal Guard would be able to track the griffon to his hideout.

Grayback smiled as he read the letter and his smile was much different from what it normally would be. Instead of his usual arrogant smirk Grayback's smile was one of genuine happiness. Letters from Fluttershy were one of the very few things that could bring him this kind of happiness. He truly loved the yellow pegasus and he was waiting for the day when the two of them could be together. Unfortunately he was a criminal and she was an innocent type of pony so they had been unable to meet each other out of fear of getting into trouble. Grayback was starting to regret living a life of crime but he knew that it was far too late for him to just walk away from it. His crimes were far too great for him to even dream of being forgiven by Equestria. Grayback remembered what his life was like prior to becoming a thief.

Grayback, or Giovan as he was known back then, had been born in the land of griffons known as Grifforia. He lived in a small town and led a very typical sort of life. As a cub he was quite popular with the griffons in his town. As he grew up his looks started to catch the eye of more than one female griffon. Well, that was a bit of an understatement. Pretty much every unmarried griffon in town melted at the sight of him. His tanned body with his chocolate colored eyes were the object of more than one griffon's dreams. The only griffon that was an exception to this was Gilda. She had hated Grayback because of his arrogance but Grayback didn't really care. To him, Gilda was just a snobbish stuck up griffon who couldn't see a handsome griffon if one danced in front of her with a top hat and cane.

While Gilda went off to Junior Speedsters Flight School, Grayback stuck around Grifforia and started to gain a lot of physical strength. He quickly became one of the toughest griffons in the entire nation of Grifforia. There were adult griffons that literally cried for mercy when they fought against him. Grayback enrolled in a fighting organization that was open to all griffons and he won the championship for three years in a row. He was a living legend among fighters which made the female griffons desire him even more. Gilda didn't care about how great of a fighter Grayback was. To her, he was still an obnoxious smug griffon.

It was only after Gilda had returned from that pony school that Grayback started to consider dating her. Sure he had griffons that would go on a date with him the instant he asked them but Gilda was different. She rejected every single one of his advances. This made Grayback see her as a griffon that was an actual challenge. Gilda didn't fall for him as easily as the other females in town did. Unfortunately Grayback lost all chance with her on that day when he had gone too far and was punished for it.

The scar that Gilda left on his face changed Grayback's life forever. The town no longer saw him as the handsome muscular griffon that they adored. Instead they saw him as nothing more than a monster. Enraged at how coldly he was being treated by his own town, Grayback fled from Grifforia and became one of the most terrifying criminals that the world has ever known. His appearance changed to match his new personality.

Within the next few months, Grayback formed a small gang of thieves. His first recruit was the bold red alicorn Psyke. He too had been rejected and forsaken by society and he was eager to exact a bit of revenge. His fiery talents had made him the perfect demolitions expert for Grayback's team. Soon after recruiting Psyke, Grayback found a pegasus called Chunker and he was impressed by her strength. He quickly hired her as the gang's main muscle and then he found Monochrome and appointed her as the team's strategist. The foursome stuck together and they struck fear into the hearts of ponies across Equestria.

Grayback scowled as he remembered his time in jail. Having been defeated by Gilda, he and his team were carted off to Canterlot Prison. Grayback as well as the others were filled with a burning desire for revenge. Grayback used his raw power to smash down the walls of his cell. Immediately after this, he freed his teammates and they started to plan their revenge on their enemies. Unfortunately they were unsuccessful with this attempt but they at least managed to avoid going back to prison.

When war broke out between Equestria and Grifforia Grayback at first wanted to just watch the battle. Unfortunately his reputation as a criminal was known by both ponies and griffons. Grayback knew that if Equestria were to lose then the Grifforia authorities would takeover the world and he'd be punished for working alongside ponies. Against his own personal wishes he aided Gilda and her friends and they managed to win the war. Surprisingly enough, Gilda had even allowed Grayback and his team to have a little bit of free time before allowing Shining Armor to arrest them. The foursome spent a bit of time in Ponyville and then they cleared out before they could be caught.

During his time in Ponyville, Grayback had found a pony that treated him much differently than any other. A yellow pegasus pony named Fluttershy had talked with him and she was surprisingly sympathetic to the villainous griffon. Grayback's appearance started to revert back to what it used to be and the ice around his heart had started to crack. The criminal griffon had been so used to scorn that Fluttershy was an angel to him. Grayback quickly found himself falling in love with the pegasus and she actually returned his feelings. This event caused the griffon to transform back into his old self.

Grayback's chocolate brown eyes opened and he smiled a bit. Fluttershy had saved him from being the monster that he was. Maybe someday he'd be able to make up for his villainous actions and hopefully Equestria's society would accept him. Grayback's heart had been surrounded by a thick armor of hatred but somehow Fluttershy had managed to crack through it. The yellow pegasus gave Grayback the affection that he hadn't had in a very long time. Grayback started to read Fluttershy's letter again but he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Putting the letter away safely, Grayback strode to the door and opened it. On the other side of the door stood a very irritable looking Monochrome and Chunker with Psyke standing behind them.

"Grayback." Monochrome said in a voice that was deadly serious. "We need to talk."


	6. Chapter 5: Splitting Issue

**Chapter 5: Splitting Issue**

Grayback's chocolate brown eyes stared into Monochrome's silvery gray eyes for a few moments until he stepped aside and allowed the pegasus to enter the room. Chunker and Psyke followed closely behind her and the latter of the two closed the door behind the trio. Both Chunker and Monochrome were looking rather angry while Psyke seemed to be wishing that he could be anywhere else at the moment. The gray pegasus looked straight at the griffon while he stared back at her and began to speak.

"What do you want Monochrome?" he asked in as neutral of a voice as he could.

"I want to know why we haven't done anything in weeks." Monochrome said angrily.

"Yeah all we've done is sit around doin' nothing." Chunker agreed. The muscular pegasus seemed to be just as mad as Monochrome was.

"We haven't organized a heist in ages." Monochrome continued.

"You haven't told us to steal anything." Chunker added.

"What's gotten into you lately?" Monochrome demanded.

"None of your business." Grayback replied testily.

The two pegasi glared daggers at Grayback while he tried to remain unconcerned. Neither Chunker nor Monochrome knew anything about his relationship with Fluttershy and he'd prefer to keep it that way. Psyke knew about it but he had promised to keep it a secret and Grayback had agreed not to breathe a word about the alicorn's feelings for his own marefriend Pinkie Pie. Monochrome and Chunker glanced at each other and they spoke again.

"Are you going soft on us Boss?" Chunker asked.

"Ever since the war you've just sat around doing nothing." Monochrome said with anger in her normally emotionless voice. She turned her head towards Psyke and spoke to him. "I'm surprised at you Psyke." she said. "You hardly seem to care either."

"You haven't tried to burn anything for weeks." Chunker said.

Psyke didn't bother replying to his teammates' statements. He glanced towards Grayback and tried to figure out what the two of them should do. Psyke's allegiance to Grayback was firm and unrelenting. The two pegasi hardly cared what Psyke thought about the situation. They went on and on about how the foursome hadn't done anything in such a long time. Both Monochrome and Chunker were venting all of their frustrations towards their boss without any sort of fear or hesitation. Grayback sat and listened with half an ear to what his teammates were saying to him. Finally the two winged ponies stopped complaining and they sat there breathing heavily from venting their frustrations. When their leader Grayback didn't offer any sort of response, Monochrome finally had enough.

"If you're not going to do anything then Chunker and I shall simply have to take matter into our own hooves." she said as she glared at Grayback. This statement certainly provoked a reaction as Grayback's eyes widened and he stared straight at the gray mare.

"Are you threatening me Monochrome?" Grayback growled as he glared back at the pegasus pony. He didn't like the tone she was giving him.

"You're our boss Grayback." Monochrome told him. "It's about time you start acting like it."

"You're right." Grayback replied. "I'm the boss. And that means what I say goes. If you don't like it then you can just get out of here." He stared at the two pegasi for a while. "Go on." he said. "I won't stop you."

There was silence among the foursome as Monochrome and Chunker glared at Grayback who returned their gaze with equal intensity. Finally the gray mare rose from her seated position and sighed.

"I thought you were better than this." she said. Monochrome strode to the door with Chunker following behind her. Then she turned towards Psyke and spoke to him.

"Come on Psyke." she said. "We're leaving."

Psyke looked from Monochrome and Chunker to Grayback. He stared at the griffon and his expression was very firm. Psyke stood up and moved right next to his boss. The two pegasus ponies were certainly stunned but they didn't care much about the alicorn.

"Your loss." Chunker scoffed as the duo left Grayback's quarters, slamming the door on their way out. Grayback and Psyke stared at the door for a moment and then they both sighed. They were about to speak to each other when they heard a surge of shouting. They quickly ran to the door and hurried towards the source of the noise.

While the four thieves were having their conversation, two mares were making their way towards the hideout of the criminal gang. While both of them knew each other, neither of the two were aware of the other's presence. One of the two mares was the yellow pegasus Fluttershy and she was gliding towards the hideout at a smooth pace. Meanwhile a pink earth pony known as Pinkie Pie was using her creation which she dubbed The PinkieCopter to fly towards the base. The duo landed and then they saw each other.

"Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked in a shocked whisper.

"Fluttershy?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Both of the friends were extremely confused by the other's presence at such a dangerous location. After making what the pink pony had referred to as a Pinkie Promise, they revealed that they were there to see their lovers. Fluttershy had wanted to meet with Grayback while Pinkie Pie was eager to visit Psyke. The duo strode to the entrance of the hideout and they were greeted by two pegasi that they knew all too well.

"Look what we have here Chunker." Monochrome said with a sneer. "The pink fuzzwad and the cowardly pegasus."

Chunker grinned threateningly at the two scared mares as they were ushered into the hideout. The gray pegasus and her muscular partner started to get excited but then Pinkie Pie tried to run. Chunker chased after the earth pony but then she crashed into a wall with a resounding crunch. The four ponies got into a very confused chase which only made more banging and crashes. Soon enough they were joined by Grayback and Psyke. In an instant the pink pony sprinted towards the red alicorn and hugged him tightly. Psyke quickly returned her embrace with a hug of his own and a grin on his face. Grayback then pulled Fluttershy out of harm's way, much to the anger of his former teammates.

"You okay Pinks?" Psyke asked in an uncharacteristically concerned tone as he held his marefriend in a comforting embrace. Pinkie Pie nodded silently as she nuzzled her head into the red alicorn's neck and hugged him tightly. While this was happening, Grayback wrapped his wings protectively around Fluttershy as he glare at Monochrome and Chunker. The two pegasi glared back at him as the army joined the group. They stared at their leaders holding their enemies in a comforting and romantic embrace. Monochrome and Chunker grinned at each other as they took their places next to the pegasus lieutenant. The two pegasus ponies waited for a moment in anticipation but after a little while, their grins started to fade. They glanced around at the massive army of ponies and griffons that hadn't moved a muscle as they looked at Grayback, Psyke, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie.

"What are you waiting for?" Monochrome shouted in a demanding tone.

"Take them down!"Chunker yelled.

The pegasus lieutenant shook his head and then he stood in front of Grayback and the others, facing the two pegasi. In an instant, the rest of the army followed his example. The entire army was facing Chunker and Monochrome and standing protectively in front of Grayback and the others. Though no words were spoken, the message that the group was sending was crystal clear. Their loyalty was to Grayback exclusively, not the foursome as a whole. Even though their enemies were standing with their leader, the army would still side with the griffon against the two pegasi. Both Chunker and Monochrome stood staring at the army with stunned looks on their faces. After a few moments, they both scoffed and left the hideout. They took to the skies and flew off to their own destination. The army silently disbanded into another room in the hideout, leaving Grayback, Psyke, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie alone. The foursome sat in silence until Pinkie Pie broke the tension.

"I'm sorry Psyke." Pinkie Pie whispered sadly as she gave him a comforting sort of hug.

"Sorry?" Psyke repeated in a confused tone. He stared blankly at Pinkie Pie as he tried to figure out what she was apologizing for.

"It's never fun to lose your friends." Fluttershy said quietly.

"They weren't our friends." Grayback said heavily.

He left it at that. What more was there to say? The two mares stayed with the group for a while before they had to go back to Ponyville. Both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy did everything they could to comfort their lovers after the loss of their 'friends'. The two criminals gave their marefriends a kiss on the lips and then both the pink earth pony and the yellow pegasus headed back to Ponyville. Grayback and Psyke weren't saddened by the loss of Chunker and Monochrome. Instead they were worried about the trouble that the duo would cause now that they had struck out on their own.

Meanwhile Chunker and Monochrome were flying through the skies to an unknown destination. Monochrome smiled a bit as she led the way to an alleyway in Detrot. Chunker followed behind and she was slightly confused. She had no idea what Monochrome was planning but she was going to follow her. Grayback had become a poor leader and now Chunker only had Monochrome to follow. The gray pegasus mare met with a pony that Chunker had only ever heard of. This pony was unlike any that either of the two pegasi had ever seen. In fact she wasn't even a pony at all. This creature was the queen of the hive of insect pony hybrids that were known as changelings. Her name was Queen Chrysalis and she stared at the two pegasus ponies with a smirk on her face.

Queen Chrysalis was infamous in the land of Equestria. She had once impersonated Princess Cadence on her own wedding day in an attempt to take over the world. While she hadn't been seen since that event, her actions had left an impact on Equestria's society. She had the unswerving loyalty of every single changeling. These creatures could use their powers to transform into anyone they wanted. The changelings served their leader without any sort of hesitation. The changeling queen grinned as she looked at the two ponies that were standing in front of her.

"Do you swear your loyalty to me?" she asked the two ponies before her.

"Yes, Your Majesty." they replied with a formal sort of bow.

Queen Chrysalis grinned maliciously and then she teleported the trio to her lair which was situated in a forest on the outskirts of Detrot. Inside of the base stood many changelings like her as well as a bunch of ponies and some rather strange looking creatures. Queen Chrysalis introduced the army to the pegasus ponies and she informed the duo of her plans. Monochrome and Chunker grinned as they listened to the plan. They were going to get their revenge on Grayback and Psyke soon enough.

**The End!**

**Author's Note: **I hope you guys enjoyed this story because I liked writing it. I wanted to give my OC's their own stories to make them a bit more interesting rather than just an everyday group of common thugs. Now that the group has disbanded what will Chunker and Monochrome do? What does Queen Chrysalis have planned? Have Grayback and Psyke turned over a new leaf? All will be answered in time. My next story however will be a lot more lighthearted. I will definitely be _racing _to get this out to you guys and I will be _flooring it _to get the story finished in a _speedy _yet effective fashion. I am positive that you guys will enjoy they next story. Reviews are appreciated as always. Thanks for reading!


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